A STORM tore through a massive Amazon warehouse in Illinois, the United States (US) yesterday, said officials, with about 100 employees trapped inside, reported local media.

Officials were working to rescue workers at the facility – a third of which has been reduced to rubble – in the early hours of today. The workers were on the night shift processing orders ahead of Christmas.

Collinsville Emergency Management Agency described it as a “mass casualty incident” with “multiple subjects trapped at Amazon warehouse”.

A tornado warning had been in effect in the area at the time of the incident.

Footage shared across news channels and social media of the Edwardsville Amazon warehouse shows a large part of the roof ripped off, while one of the walls has collapsed into the building, with rubble strewn across the site.

It is not immediately clear if anyone is hurt or killed.

Illinois governor J.B. Pritzer said: “My prayers are with the people of Edwardsville tonight.”

“Police and the Illinois Emergency Management Agency are both coordinating closely with local officials, and I will continue to monitor the situation.”

Amazon spokesman Richard Rocha, in a statement sent to local media, said “the safety and well-being of our employees and partners is our top priority right now”.

“We are assessing the situation and will share additional information when it is available.”

Severe weather wreaked havoc in multiple south-eastern and south-central states in the US yesterday.

In Arkansas, one person was killed and 20 others were trapped after a tornado struck the Monette Manor nursing home, reported US media.

Craighead county official Marvin Day told local news channels that rescuers have successfully pulled out those trapped in the building, while the structure was “pretty much destroyed”.

In Tennessee, at least two people were killed in storm-related incidents, an emergency management official told local media. – AFP, December 11, 2021.